I’ve been enjoying the wonderful series by Doctor T Designs on the Kibbe method for determining what styles of clothing suit women. The method is incredibly detailed with several main types, each with sub-type variants. Doctor T goes into a lot of detail about each type and then each sub-type. She then provides three levels of formality and detail (from casual to evening wear) for each type. To really underscore her amazing attention to detail all these posts are accompanied by multitudes of patterns and suggestions. Most of this happened in the latter part of 2018. Then on January 1st she created the Kibbe Challenge.

Normally I avoid the sewing world challenges. But this one really suits me. Step one is to determine my Kibbe type. Initially I thought I maybe the soft classic sub-type, but a review made me realise I am very much a Classic. Their clothes are typically:

Clean lines that follow the body shape.

No fussy details like ruffles, lace, sequins and dramatic sihouettes.

More likely to use natural fibres like wool and linen.

Emphasis on solid colours, prints are are understated and small.

The next few steps are about clearing out your existing wardrobe, working out what clothes you need that fit your lifestyle, finding the colours that best suit me and choosing patterns. Then Dr T suggests combining this with other sewing challenges like #sewnine or one of the SWAP variants.

OK! I can do this! I’m going to work Kibbe into my hopes for 2019 starting with number one – trousers. A Kibbe classic trousers are meant to have clean lines with a tapered/straight or boot cut leg. Some waist pleats but no gathers. Pockets are more likely to be inset rather than a patch feature. I rather get the feeling that the trousers are there to support whatever else you are wearing. So, simple and stylish, and possibly a little boring.

Black – using McCalls 6901 and the Palmer/Pletsch fitting course from Craftsy. I need black trousers for two work sites. These are most certainly Kibbe plain. If this pattern works as I hope, they will be the template for all future work trousers. All in wool blends.

Navy – Style Arc Teddy – I could wear these to work and probably will. They are perhaps a bit too interesting for Kibbe Classic trousers. Given I will be doing them in a navy wool blend I think they’ll be just fine.

Image from the Style Arc website

Navy – Style Arc Fifi – I’ve be made the three quarter length. The pattern image makes them seem to have wide legs. Actually they have a straight cut from the thighs to hem. These will be in the next post.

I’ll probably alternate trousers with tops for work, then whatever else on my list that takes my fancy. My colours, how I found them and my proposed shirts and jacket, will all be in future posts.

3 Responses to Kibbe sewing

There must be something I missed because you now have work to attend! Yes, the Doctor T challenge is interesting – just too much detail to work through at the moment! Palmer Pletsch always do very classic designs – I made the forerunner pattern up and it worked beautifully.